


never regret thy fall

by sinshineboi



Series: joohyuk bingo [sinshineboi] [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Greek Mythology, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Character Death, IcarusApollo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 09:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,046
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16930509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinshineboi/pseuds/sinshineboi
Summary: "Don’t forget about me. For all the angels and stars that find their way to you, for the centuries to pass and lives to decay, don’t forget about the boy who only wanted to kiss the sun one last time."Or, me attempting to use this as my Age Difference prompt.





	never regret thy fall

_"Icarus is flying too close to the sun_   
_And Icarus' life, it has only just begun_

_This is how it feels to take a fall_   
_Icarus is flying towards an early grave"_

The sun peeked over the horizon, rousing a young male with a mop of golden blonde hair from his slumber as the hues of pink and orange bled into the lonely room of his tower. A prison crafted by his father's own hand, free will stripped from their hands just as his mother's life had been. Bitterness simmered beneath his skin as he trudged through every day, watching his father become sicker with grief and hopelessness, and he would take his own notes, spelling out his dreams upon whatever spare parchment he could find. He'd daydream while gazing out the lone window of the tower, reaching out as if to touch the sky that always seemed to taunt him with its ethereal blue hues and soft-looking white clouds. A burning jealousy would rise up in his chest whenever the melodic chirp of a bird drifted through on a light breeze. How he longed to be like a bird, free to explore the sky.

As his father deteriorated more, he began dreaming of a man, orange hair rival to that of the glowing sunset and smile brighter than the sun itself. His sun-kissed skin seemed to have its own sort of glow, gold glitter shining upon any bare skin the young male could grace his fingers along. The dreams would leave the blonde breathless as he woke the next morning, at dawn as always.

It wasn't until his father's passing that the young man allowed himself to fall deeper into his own despair, now completely alone with nothing but his father's notes and a dream of a man too godly to be real. He found himself praying to this mysterious man, fingers clutched tight around the one sketch he had managed to salvage during a fit of rage at how unfair the world seemed to be. He had screamed until his voice was nothing more than a whisper, expression falling into a state of blankness. Only after hours of pacing the tiny tower, he would find himself collapsing onto his cot, too tired to even cover himself with the linen sheet. 

Content to not even rise from his bed the next morning, his expression twisted into one of confusion mixed with the fog of sleep as the warmth of someone's touch graced his cheek. It whispered to him without saying anything, coaxing him back to the land of those conscious, Hypnos' clutches releasing him as the softest whines of complaint fell past his lips.

"For someone who prayed so much to me, you aren't very grateful for my presence."

Jerking awake, the blonde quickly sat up, nearly bolting at the sight of the man he had been dreaming about. Brown eyes wide with disbelief, he took in the godly appearance, confirming that the stranger did in fact  _glow_. It was dazzling, and the younger male briefly wondered if he was still dreaming, gaze awestruck. The god before him could only chuckle, reaching to tuck an unruly strand of blond hair behind the dazed boy's ear, before he tilted his head to the side, voicing a single question, "What is your name?"

"Lee Minhyuk."

The response had fallen from Minhyuk's lips faster than he could even process the question, cheeks flushed with embarrassment, but the warm expression he got in response made the burn of shame subside quicker than the previous night's tide. A hum of approval sounded between the two men, golden eyes flickering with mirth as a gentle hand moved to caress the blond's cheek. The touch was lighter than a feather, yet warm as if the boy had laid out in the patch of sunlight that filtered through the window. He leaned forward the slightest bit to invade the commoner's space, lips forming a name and sounding sweeter than any birdsong,  _Call me Jooheon._ He knew it wasn't the real name of the person before him, but Minhyuk didn't want to utter the name out loud, knowing the god before him would slip away as soon as this fog faded. It was a game. One Minhyuk never wanted to stop playing.

* * *

 

_"You're not allowed to want me."_

_"I wasn't planning on it."_

Despite his words, Minhyuk knew he was falling and falling quickly. The earth he had longed to touch since he was forced into that forsaken tower was coming into his vision faster than he had planned. Metaphorically, of course, as he was still a prisoner far above the ground. This was more like his heart had been wrenched from his chest, dangled out the window, and dropped before the birds could pluck it from his hands. 

He wanted Jooheon like a plant wanted water, it was becoming more of a need as the days spent in the deity's presence continued to pass on. The heat and the flickering of his hands devouring Minhyuk as they continued to take. The gods were greedy and didn't care that they left fire in their wake. Destruction and chaos followed the footsteps of any god, blooming as if Persephone had graced them with her palm, beckoning them up to the earth. Every inch of Minhyuk's body seemed to melt when burning lips pressed against the skin between his shoulder blades. 

He wanted him. Oh, how desperately he wanted him.

Boy made of fire, made of want that burned like a quickly dying flame. That was Jooheon. Much like how plants relied on the sun for life, Minhyuk could feel how he began to depend on these visits, whether they were in person or in his dreams. He could no longer remember a life without the sun god breathing life into his veins, smiles being pressed into the more intimate patches of skin on his body. Jooheon had become his only source of happiness and had pulled him from his deepest despair. He was forever indebted to a man he was not allowed to want.

_“You can’t fall in love.”_

_“You’re not my type.”_

He was lying through his teeth now. 

Minhyuk was completely enraptured and enthralled with this deity. The way Jooheon tasted like summer days and the fleeting moments of sunsets. There was something so addictive about this god, and maybe that was it. Jooheon was a god through and through; he was meant to gain the attention of anyone he chose. Minhyuk wasn't special by any means, but it still warmed his heart that he had been  _chosen_. The man before him could spend his time with anyone he pleased, yet here he was in the mortal's lonely tower, keeping him company. 

The most addictive part had to be his touches, the way his hands were rough tugging at Minhyuk's hair, his skin, nails digging moons and shooting stars into his flesh. It was those moments that Minhyuk knew he could become a galaxy at Jooheon's fingertips if he wanted him to. He'd jump and try to fly out the window of his tower if the sun god wished it such.

It was confusing really, because the gods possessed a sort of glamour. For all the mortal knew, the deity before him was bending his mind and compelling him to fall despite warning him not to. Minhyuk wanted to believe this was genuine, wanted to believe that all of this was okay and not just some means of magic to get him to fall. Perhaps, he was being glamoured. It was a game after all. But would there truly be a winner after all of this?

Minhyuk had a feeling he was on the losing side of this game. 

_“You’ll have to leave eventually.”_

_“Only if you ask me to.”_

Minhyuk had spoken first, his doubts growing and darkening in his mind. It was like a storm cloud had moved in to cover his sun, hiding him from its burning touch. It was a valiant attempt at protecting himself. He's learned, since one bitter argument the pair had, that they were never meant to be. There was never a happy ending in store for them, as every Greek myth involving a god ended in some horrific lesson. Fate had written their stories so that they intertwined, forcing the two together despite knowing it would only end in tragedy. He should have known that happiness wasn't meant for him. It was as fleeting as the sun in the winter, setting much earlier than the sun he had come to know during the summer season, the sun he had come to love and cherish more than he had loved his own father.

The Fates had their way of issuing warnings, but the poor mortal took it as a good omen rather than a bad one. He wasn't meant to give up his life for this boy that burned so bright, this boy made of fire and warmth. He had screamed danger, but the smoke of the tantalizing fire that was Lee Jooheon had blinded Minhyuk from the truth, led him down this path of unfortunate love where he was bound to meet his end.

An end that only meant death.

But he would live this life again just to feel Jooheon's gasp of breath like a warm breeze on his neck, just to feel his fingers graze his hips. He wanted every moment of theirs to last forever, go on for eternity and perhaps Minhyuk would become immortal himself. Even so, they were destined to collide and tear each other apart, destined to crash and sink and destroy themselves. Or, maybe that was just Minhyuk. He couldn't quite remember.

_“I don’t want you anymore.”_

_“Please don’t do this.”_

Of course, the moment Minhyuk had found a way to escape his tower, a way for him to be with Jooheon, he had been shot down amongst the clouds. The sweet breeze kissing his cheeks was almost bittersweet as he stared up at the man he had assumed to be his lover, the light during his dark times. He could feel the wax holding his wings together melting down his bare back, scaring the once unmarred golden skin the sun god had loved to silently worship. That physical pain had nothing on the pain coursing its way through the mortal's heart. It was tearing him apart inside.

His screams were heard in vain as he fell from the sky in a mass of burning feathers, looking godlike himself as the deity watched him fall. The flicker of misery on Jooheon's face as his lover was embraced by the cool ocean waves went unnoticed by anyone except the god of the ocean. A god who was gingerly taking care to leave the lifeless boy floating along the ocean's surface.

It was a reminder that Jooheon had been stupid, had let his heart get attached to a mortal that was never his to begin with. He could almost hear Minhyuk's whisper on the winds, a soft sound full of more warmth than the sun god himself could ever hope to possess, _"Don’t forget about me. For all the angels and stars that find their way to you, for the centuries to pass and lives to decay, don’t forget about the boy who only wanted to kiss the sun one last time."_

He watched from the shore this time, as Minhyuk's body sank beneath the surface of the ocean foam, the god of the ocean by his side. The broader man turned a pitying gaze on the younger god, wondering briefly if he should speak his mind. Upon receiving a nod in response, he looked back out into the waves and calmly spoke, "What are you afraid of? That you love him or that you’ve lost him, either way the heart beating in your chest didn’t originally belong to you, and now you are going to suffer for a love that you know you could have pursued. No one was stopping you from wanting the mortal boy, Jooheon. Nobody, but yourself."

The sun god didn't stick around for more of the other's chastising, and the sun set early that night, painting the world in the boy's favorite shade of sunset.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, thank you so much for reading you guys! It means a lot to me, and I hope you can leave some comments below. I'm getting a late start on my JooHyuk bingo card, whoops, but I wanted to start it off with a bang, and what's better than a retelling of the Icarus myth? This is a poor excuse at meeting the Age Difference prompt, one's immortal and the other is like a twenty year old man. Quite the age difference no?
> 
> Anyway, this is the first of many prompts that I hope to complete so keep an eye out for those! Feeling free to follow me on twitter (@minshinesin) for keeping up with my life and for some polls that'll pop up in relation to the rest of the prompts!
> 
> Thank you again for reading! Love and appreciate all of you~


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